Switches of the kind described serve to direct rolled material arriving from the rolling mill alternately to two reels, in most cases coordinated with one core. Furthermore, such switches are used in order to direct the incipient ends--severed by means of preceding shears--to a scrap bin or chopper. As modern rolling mills are operated at very high speeds, there is not sufficient time to actuate the switch after a strand end has passed, and before arrival of the beginning of the next strand. For this reason, the switching is done while a strand is being forwarded into one of the continuing guides, to the other guide into which the following strand is to enter. In order to facilitate this procedure, it is necessary to design the switch in such a fashion that the strand still passing through the already reversed switch is not subjected to excessive deflection. The guide elements surrounding the strand must, therefore, have sufficient clearance. This necessitated, in the past, steps taken to direct the newly arriving strand head safely in the new direction without having the previously passing strand end swing sideways in uncontrollable fashion (lash effect).
In a switch of the type described, the end of the adjustable guide tube is fitted with a swiveling funnel, whose funnel opening looks towards the direction from which the rolled material arrives, and which is maintained by springs in the direction of the guide tube. Once the guide tube, after the strand has entered the continuing course through the guide tube and through the funnel, all being aligned, is switched to the other course, the funnel will assume an oblique position due to the adjusting forces of the passing strand. As soon as the strand end has passed the funnel, the latter springs into the new position coaxial with the guide tube. Thus, the beginning of the next strand is guided to the other direction.
The known installation has the disadvantage that between the forward strand end and the following strand beginning a certain minimum distance must be maintained, as the funnel may only then snap into the new position if it has been released by the strand that has passed. If the funnel is furnished with strong springs in order to have the switching process take place as abruptly as possible, the deflection force to be applied by the strand end still passing through is increased, thus preventing the risk of bending the strand end. For reliable guidance of the funnel, it must have a minimum length, thus maintaining a certain distance between the passing strands. All these prerequisites make it impossible for this kind of switch to be utilized for rolled material running at extreme speed, where the distances between strand ends and beginnings are very short.